Sealcoating Asphalt

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The main reason to sealcoat your pavement is to extend the life of your investment, it's that simple. Most people spend thousands of dollars to pave their parking lot or driveway. Sealcoating is a cost effective way to protect your investment and increase the longevity of your asphalt. As a general rule, you should seal your driveway or parking lot every 2 to 3 years. More specifically, if your asphalt is a light gray color and you can see the color of the individual stones that make up your asphalt surface, you know it's time to seal it. However, there are a few rules we follow before we seal anything. For starters, we would never seal a new asphalt driveway or parking lot because the asphalt needs six months or more to properly cure. Next the asphalt surface needs to be throughly cleaned prior to sealcoating because dirt and oil will cause the sealer to not adhere to the asphalt.

The most important aspect of the sealcoating process is cleaning and preparing the asphalt surface. Here at ACF Asphalt Sealcoating & Striping we pay close attention to detail and strive for perfection. We remove dirt with hand and walk behind blowers. Detailed dirt removal is done with brooms. Oil spots are treated and removed with GemSeal Multi-primer prior to applying the sealer.  In some instances it may be necessary for the asphalt to be pressure washed before sealer is applied. Cracks in the asphalt are cleaned with a wire wheel machine and hot crack filler is applied to fill the cracks. This is to prevent water from penetrating the asphalt surface and freezing during cold weather. If water is allowed to penetrate and freeze, it will expand and crack the surface and base layer further which will cause what is known as a "Pothole."

Once the surface is cleaned and inspected we use GemSeal's Eco-friendly Black Diamond Sealer to seal the asphalt. This is GemSeal's new high performance alternative to asphalt emulsions (AE) sealer and refinded tar sealer. We always apply the first coat of sealer and allow time for it to dry before applying the second coat. This is done to ensure proper coverage of the sealant, which provides further protection for your surface. Depending on weather conditions and temperature, it is recommended that the second coat dry for 12- 24 hours prior to opening to traffic.